Reimagining Interstellar's Shuttles: a mock design study

Christopher Nolan's 2014 grand scale science-fiction story about time and space, and the things that transcend them.
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stoifics42
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Decided to put this in its own thread instead of taking over the "Scientific Critics of Interstellar" thread. List of all previous posts for this project can be found within the spoiler tag below.
Reimagining Interstellar's Shuttles: Single Stage to Orbit via Nuclear Lightbulb Propulsion is a mock design study in which I attempt to rebuild the Ranger and Lander from scratch using only known physics and technology. The result is the Nuclear Cargo Vehicle Pegasus, a ship that can match or outperform both the Ranger and Lander in the relevant areas without the unrealistic aspects of either one.

Image

At long last, Draft 1 of the report is now available for review & critique. What the draft does include is the full report text, all calculated tables & figures, and incomplete reference images of the ship (the image above). What the draft does not include is finalized formatting, citations, full images & diagrams, and complete appendices.

A PDF of Draft 1 can be downloaded here: http://www.mediafire.com/view/7z1awqby7 ... uttles.pdf

The draft is also being sent to a handful of aerospace specialists a lot smarter than me for review. After incorporating their advice, the report will be polished & reformatted to mimic the look of a real aerospace design study (even though it isn't). The two spoiler tags below contain the Abstract and Vehicle Overview sections, which best summarize the paper & design as a whole.

Abstract
It is common in modern space films for characters to be able to travel between a planet’s surface and orbital space with ease via a small shuttle. Despite the many difficulties inherent in reaching orbit, these shuttles are almost always compact, single-stage, and can operate in a wide variety of environments without dedicated retrofitting. Christopher Nolan’s film Interstellar is no exception to this trend, featuring two craft that match this description. However, the Ranger and Lander do not follow modern aerospace conventions, as their designs appear to emphasize aesthetics over functionality. Modern single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) designs, while realistic, fall far short of the Ranger and Lander’s capabilities as they were designed for maximum efficiency in a specific set of environments.

The question then arises as to whether a realistically designed vehicle with the Ranger and Lander’s capabilities is physically possible at all, using only currently understood physics and technology. The author presents a Nuclear Cargo Vehicle (NCV) concept spacecraft with performance capabilities comparable to those demonstrated by Interstellar’s shuttles. Analyses of major subsystems such as the nuclear reactor, radiation shielding, thermal management system, payload bay, and others are given. A sample mission profile is provided to demonstrate the extent of the craft’s abilities. Finally, select scenes from Interstellar are reimagined using the NCV in place of the film’s shuttles, demonstrating that the design can work within the constraints of the story.
Vehicle Overview
The Nuclear Cargo Vehicle Pegasus is a VTVL SSTO shuttle designed to carry payloads up to 5 tonnes to and from the surface of many different kinds of alien planets, both habitable and uninhabitable. The main hull is configured as a lifting body 21 m long, 4 m tall, and 18 m wide. Two large fins jut out of the rear of the vehicle for additional control while in an atmosphere. Next to each fin are small chemical rockets for orbital maneuvers, along with numerous RCS ports at various points along the upper hull. The NCV can be flown either manned or unmanned, thanks to advanced triple-redundant flight computers and a fiber-optic flyby-wire system. With a ΔV of 12 km/s and a minimum TWR of 1.34, the ship is capable of traveling to and returning from the surface of essentially any Earth-size world or smaller, assuming a low starting orbit.

A closed-cycle gas core nuclear rocket (GCNR), both powerful and compact, provides an Isp of 835 s when using water as the onboard propellant. Thick shielding and numerous heat-exchanging mechanisms ensure that the reactor’s immense heat & radiation output does not damage the structure or payload. When flying through planetary atmospheres, air intakes can be opened to allow the GCNR to operate as a nuclear ramjet, giving the NCV effectively infinite range for surface exploration. If the proper equipment is brought along as payload, the craft can refill its propellant tanks at almost any natural water deposit, either in liquid or solid form. Nozzles extend out the rear of the vehicle as well as the ventral hull to allow for thrust during cruising flight and takeoff/landing maneuvers, respectively.

The forward payload bay is highly modular, allowing for either passengers, cargo, or both. Life support is similarly modular, and can be augmented for extended planetary surveys or removed altogether for unmanned cargo runs. An airlock in the NCV’s nose allows entry and exit from the payload bay, with the outer hatch unfolding into a small ramp. High-strength windows in the payload bay’s roof give passengers a view outside, and can be removed and replaced with hull plating for unmanned missions.
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